Most of you should know that the Mercedes 1.8 liter M271 DE18ML engine lost its supercharger in favor of a turbo creating the 1.8 liter M271 DE18LA turbocharged and direct injected four cylinder. AMG is enlisting help of its internal HPE (High Performance Engine) division to raise the output beyond what the BMW 1M and Audi RS3 offer. This means they are shooting for over 340 horsepower which will require a substantial reworking of the 201 horsepower 1.8 liter engine.

Bore and stroke are to be increased to 83mm x 89mm for 2.0 liter capacity from the current 82mm x 85mm. Displacement alone is not going to help Mercedes reach their target so a larger turbo is no doubt in the cards. We would expect the heads, valvetrain, manifold, basically everything to get revised.

The other interesting tidbit is that it appears all wheel drive will be standard on these AMG models. These are almost going to be seen as a luxury WRX or EVO and no doubt will become some of the most popular Mercedes models to tune due to their entry level price point. Bring it on Mercedes!